In the quiet rural area near Tiaro, Australia, October 4, 2001 began like any other day for the residents of the property known as “Whispering Winds.” The property, which was being developed as a winery, housed three people: Keith Rylance, 40, his wife Amy, 22, and their business partner Petra Heller, 39. None of them could have anticipated that within 24 hours, their names would be linked to one of Australia’s most compelling UFO abduction cases.
The evening started routinely enough. According to statements given to investigators, Keith retired to the caravan bedroom around 9:30 PM. Petra went to her own bedroom in the caravan annex, while Amy stayed up watching television in the lounge area. The three were in close proximity to one another, with only a wall separating Keith from the lounge and an open door between Petra’s room and where Amy reclined on the couch. A storm moved through the area as the night progressed, but otherwise, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
Around 11:15 PM, Petra was suddenly awakened. When she entered the lounge area adjacent to her bedroom, she witnessed something that would forever alter the lives of all three individuals. According to her account, a rectangular beam of light was projecting through the open window of the caravan lounge. This wasn’t just any light. It appeared solid, with a clearly defined end rather than the typical dissipation one would expect.
Most shocking to Petra was what she saw within this beam. Amy, apparently unconscious, was floating in a prone position, being carried headfirst through the window. Beneath Amy’s floating form, also captured within the same beam, were items from the coffee table that had been next to the couch where Amy had been resting.
Following the beam to its source, Petra claimed to see a disc-shaped object hovering just above the ground a short distance away. The craft was positioned near a tree at the rear of the cleared section behind the caravan house. The shock of the scene overwhelmed Petra, who fainted shortly after witnessing this extraordinary sight.